The Tallest 20 in 2020: Entering the Era of the Megatall

As we started the 21st century, just 11 short years ago, the Petronas Towers held the title of “The World’s Tallest” at 452 meters (1,483 feet) in height. Taipei 101 took the title in 2004, at 508 meters (1,667 feet).Then, at the end of the decade, the Burj Khalifa set new standards at 828 meters (2,717 feet) – over half a mile high. Now, with work set to start on-site in January 2012 for Jeddah’s 1,000+ meter Kingdom Tower

, we can expect that in a mere two decades (2000–2020) the height of the “World’s Tallest Building” will have more than doubled.

THE KINGDOM TOWER

The Kingdom Tower will have a height of at least 1000 meters, and thus it will be 173 meters higher than Burj Khalifa.
 The Tower is designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture. Adrian Smith was the architect of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the current highest building in the world.
It is estimated that the construction of the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah will last 63 months, although it may take longer for the project to complete. The Kingdom Tower is currently the highest building that was approved for construction. The tower will be served by 56 elevators. The estimated cost of the building is 4.6 billion SR (about 1.2 billion USD) as of August 2011 although this figure is subject to change. The tower will house a hotel; offices, apartments as well as it will be the tallest observation spot.